Satan had blocked Paul’s path to go to the Thessalonians who he loved. However, he sent Timothy and he has now returned with good news for Paul. Read these verses slowly and think in terms of the relationship between Paul and the churches.
“But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.” (1 Thessalonians 3:6-10)
What Paul had been anxious about was unfounded because Timothy’s report was of a strong community of believers who spoke well of Paul and who wanted to see him. This was of huge encouragement to Paul. We see the keys of kingdom friendship in these verses.
- The gospel/ ‘good news’ of the kingdom is not only a glorious message but it is a lived out message within the Christian community, v6.
- All kingdom community is a shared faith (our walk with God) and a shared love (our walk with each other) and you cannot have one without the other, v6.
- The kingdom relationships are those of family; ‘brothers and sisters’ who have a great history together filled with memories and who desire to make many more, v6-7.
- The reason why we keep going in the faith are the stories of what God is doing in His people’s lives, when we live our lives not for the promotion of what God is doing in us but what He is doing in others then we have understood the kingdom, v 8-9.
- Thankfulness and regular praying are the results of kingdom relationships, v9-10.
Missions Paul 